University of Massachusets Athletics
Saturday, January 13
North Andover, Mass.
7:00 p.m.
University of Massachusetts
12-6-3, 5-4-2
1
at
4
Merrimack
10-10-1, 3-7-1
1
2
3
F
Massachusetts
0
1
0
1
Merrimack
0
3
1
4
#13 Massachusetts Hockey Falls At Merrimack, 4-1
January 13, 2024 | Hockey
NORTH ANDOVER, Mass. – Merrimack used three second period goals to hand No. 13 University of Massachusetts hockey its first regulation loss since November 11, 4-1 on Saturday night at Lawler Arena. The setback leaves the Minutemen at 12-6-3 on the year, 5-4-2 in Hockey East action, while the Warriors improve to 10-10-1 overall and 3-7-1 in league play.
"I thought the game was pretty even," said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "I thought chances were pretty even, we just couldn't put it in the back of the net and we left two guys all alone in front of the net and both times they scored. Opportunistic. I thought there were a lot of chances in the game and I actually liked the way we played tonight better than we did last night."
After a scoreless first, Merrimack broke the deadlock in the opening moments of the second period. Mark Hiller and Ben Brar won the puck along the wall and found Ty Daneault streaking down the slot unmarked for the finish over Michael Hrabal's left pad 1:30 into the second.
Hillier then made it 2-0, redirecting home a Liam Dennison shot from the left point at 5:41.
UMass took one of the goals back 8:14 into the frame as sophomore Kenny Connors won an offensive zone faceoff, followed the puck to the corner and rimmed it around the boards for classmate Owen Murray. Murray's shot found its way through traffic from the right point for his second tally of the season.
However, Merrimack regained its two-goal edge before the end of the period as Alex Jefferies tucked a shot under the crossbar at 12:04.
The Warriors later pushed the margin to three early in the third period as Filip Forsmark collected the puck from Ivan Zivlak and found Matt Copponi trailing the play for the score 2:06 into the stanza.
Merrimack edged UMass in shots, 28-25. The Minutemen were 0-for-2 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
Both goaltenders, Hrabal for Massachusetts and Hugo Ollas for the Warriors, posted 24 saves apiece.
UMass will be back in action when the squad travels to Northeastern next Saturday, January 20, at 4 p.m.
"I thought the game was pretty even," said UMass head coach Greg Carvel. "I thought chances were pretty even, we just couldn't put it in the back of the net and we left two guys all alone in front of the net and both times they scored. Opportunistic. I thought there were a lot of chances in the game and I actually liked the way we played tonight better than we did last night."
After a scoreless first, Merrimack broke the deadlock in the opening moments of the second period. Mark Hiller and Ben Brar won the puck along the wall and found Ty Daneault streaking down the slot unmarked for the finish over Michael Hrabal's left pad 1:30 into the second.
Hillier then made it 2-0, redirecting home a Liam Dennison shot from the left point at 5:41.
UMass took one of the goals back 8:14 into the frame as sophomore Kenny Connors won an offensive zone faceoff, followed the puck to the corner and rimmed it around the boards for classmate Owen Murray. Murray's shot found its way through traffic from the right point for his second tally of the season.
However, Merrimack regained its two-goal edge before the end of the period as Alex Jefferies tucked a shot under the crossbar at 12:04.
The Warriors later pushed the margin to three early in the third period as Filip Forsmark collected the puck from Ivan Zivlak and found Matt Copponi trailing the play for the score 2:06 into the stanza.
Merrimack edged UMass in shots, 28-25. The Minutemen were 0-for-2 on the power play and 3-for-3 on the penalty kill.
Both goaltenders, Hrabal for Massachusetts and Hugo Ollas for the Warriors, posted 24 saves apiece.
UMass will be back in action when the squad travels to Northeastern next Saturday, January 20, at 4 p.m.
Team Stats
UMA
MER
Shots
25
28
PPG
0
0
SHG
0
0
Penalties
3
2
Penalty Mins
6
4
Faceoffs Won
35
30
Game Leaders
+/-
1
Goals
1
Sh
2
A
0
+/-
-1
Goals
0
Sh
4
A
1
+/-
0
Goals
0
Sh
2
A
0
Players Mentioned
UMass IH | Coach Carvel Post Game Press Conference vs Maine | 11.07.25
Saturday, November 08
UMass IH | Post Game Press Conference vs Maine | 11.07.25
Friday, November 07
UMass IH | Broadcast Highlights vs Maine | 11.07.25
Friday, November 07
UMass IH | Post Game Press Conference vs Maine | 11.06.25
Thursday, November 06